Antenna device and method of setting resonant frequency of antenna device

ABSTRACT

In antenna device, a coil conductor of an antenna coil module and a conductor layer at least partially overlap. A current flows in the conductor layer to block a magnetic field generated by a current flowing in the coil conductor. A current flows along the periphery of a slit and around the periphery of the conductor layer due to a cut-edge effect. Since magnetic flux does not pass through the conductor layer, magnetic flux attempts to bypass the conductor layer along a path in which the conductor opening of the conductor layer is on the inside and the outer edge of the conductor layer is on the outside. As a result, the magnetic flux generates large loops that link the inside and the outside of a coil conductor of an antenna on a reader/writer side to couple an antenna device and the antenna on the reader/writer side.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to antenna devices preferably for use inRFID systems and short-range wireless communication systems, suchsystems performing communication through electromagnetic signals withappliances that are communication partners, and also relates to methodsof setting the resonant frequency of such antenna devices.

2. Description of the Related Art

In RFID systems and short-range wireless communication systems, whichhave become widely used in recent years, in order to facilitatecommunication between mobile electronic appliances such as mobiletelephones or between a mobile electronic appliance and a reader/writer,a communication antenna is mounted in each of the appliances. Among suchantennas, an antenna to be mounted in a mobile electronic appliance isdisclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2006-270681.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating communication between a mobile informationterminal 21 and a reader/writer as disclosed in Japanese UnexaminedPatent Application Publication No. 2006-270681 when the mobileinformation terminal 21 and the reader/writer are in the vicinity ofeach other. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, a magnetic field H,which is part of the electromagnetic waves radiated from atransmitting/receiving antenna unit 26 of the reader/writer, is affectedby metal objects such as a battery pack 25 within a main body 22 of theterminal and is weakened due to reflection, absorption and the like. Ametal layer 30 is arranged closer to a side onto which theelectromagnetic waves are incident than a location of a communicationsurface CS of an antenna module 10. An induced current (eddy current) isgenerated due to the external magnetic field acting on the front surfaceof the metal layer 30 and a magnetic field H1 generated as a result ofthis current causes generation of an induced electric current in anantenna coil 15 of the antenna module 10.

In this example, the metal layer 30 is arranged close to and facing theantenna module 10 so as to cover part of the antenna coil 15 and therebyinductive coupling occurs between the transmitting/receiving antennaunit 26 of the reader/writer and the antenna coil 15 of the antennamodule 10 via the magnetic field component H1 that arises around themetal layer 30.

The antenna device illustrated in FIG. 1 attempts to solve a problem inthat when the antenna of the antenna device and the antenna on thecommunication partner side are brought close to each other and thedistance therebetween becomes very small, the communicationcharacteristics fluctuate greatly depending on the magnitude ofpositional displacement between the centers of the two antenna. In orderto reduce the degree to which magnetic flux, which is attempting to linkthe antenna coil 15 of the antenna module 10 on the mobile informationterminal 21 side and transmitting/receiving antenna unit 26 on thereader/writer side, is blocked by metal objects such as the battery pack25 within the casing, the metal layer 30 is provided to induce magneticflux in that region. Therefore, a substantial effect cannot be regularlyor reliably obtained by changing the positions of shielding members suchas the battery pack 25.

Furthermore, the metal layer 30 effectively does not regularly orreliably increase the communication range in a state in which theantenna device and the antenna on the communication partner side arespaced apart from each other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide anantenna device that, even when the size of the antenna device is smallcompared to that of an antenna on the communication-partner side, iscapable of stable communication and is also capable of increasing themaximum possible communication range, and also provide a method ofadjusting the central resonant frequency of the antenna device.

An antenna device according to a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is provided in an electronic appliance and includes a coilconductor having a loop shape or a spiral shape in which a windingcenter portion provides a coil opening; and a conductor layer that isarranged on a side closer to an antenna on a communication partner sidethan a location of the coil conductor; wherein the conductor layerincludes a conductor opening and a slit, the slit connecting theconductor opening and an outer edge of the conductor layer; and when thesubstrate is viewed in plan view, the coil conductor and conductor layerare superposed one on top of the other.

A method of setting a resonant frequency of an antenna device accordingto another preferred embodiment of the present invention includes thesteps of mounting inside a casing of an electronic appliance an antennacoil module that is formed by stacking a substrate on which aloop-shaped or spiral-shaped coil conductor, in which a winding centerportion defines a coil opening, has been formed, on a magnetic sheet,arranging a conductor layer in the casing on a side that is closer to anantenna of a communication partner side than a location of the coilconductor; and forming a conductor opening and a slit in the conductorlayer, the slit connecting the conductor opening and an outer edge ofthe conductor layer; wherein, when the substrate is viewed in plan view,the coil opening and the conductor opening at least partially overlap,and the resonant frequency is set to be lower than a central frequencyof a to-be-used frequency band when the conductor layer is not presentand is set to be the central frequency of the to-be-used frequency bandwhen the antenna coil module has been mounted inside the casing of theelectronic appliance.

According to various preferred embodiments of the present invention, acurrent flows through the conductor layer so that a magnetic field,which is generated by the current flowing through the coil conductor, isblocked. Then, a current flows around the periphery of the opening inthe conductor layer and a current flows along the periphery of the slitand around the periphery of the conductor layer due to the cut-edgeeffect. As a result, a magnetic field arises around the conductor layerand the communication range can be increased.

In addition, since the conductor layer causes large loops of magneticflux to circulate, the magnetic flux extends from the antenna device tothe antenna on the communication partner side or from the antenna on thecommunication partner side to the antenna device, and the maximumpossible range of communication between the antenna device and theantenna on the communication partner side becomes large.

The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics andadvantages of the present invention will become more apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiments withreference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a situation in which communication isperformed between the mobile information terminal 21 and thereader/writer as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2006-270681 when the mobile information terminal 21 andthe reader/writer are in the vicinity of each other.

FIG. 2A is a view of a rear surface of an electronic appliance that isequipped with an antenna device according to a first preferredembodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a plan view of theinterior of a lower casing viewed from the rear surface side.

FIG. 3A is a plan view of the antenna coil module 3 and FIG. 3B is afront view thereof.

FIG. 4A is a sectional view illustrating a state in which the antennadevice 101 and the antenna on the reader/writer side are magneticallycoupled, and FIG. 4B is a sectional view illustrating a state in whichthere is no conductor layer 2, as a comparative example.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are views of an antenna device according to a secondpreferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 5A is a planview of the interior of a lower casing 1 of an electronic appliance, andFIG. 5B is a plan view of a state in which the antenna coil module 3 hasbeen mounted on an inner surface of the lower casing 1.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are plan views of an antenna device 103 according to athird preferred embodiment of the present invention wherein FIG. 6Aillustrates the current that flows through a coil conductor 31 and FIG.6B illustrates a current l that flows through a conductor layer 2.

FIG. 7A is a plan view of an antenna coil module 13 according to afourth preferred embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 7B is afront view thereof.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an antenna device 104 according to a fifthpreferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First PreferredEmbodiment

An antenna device and a method of setting a resonant frequency of theantenna device according to a first preferred embodiment of the presentinvention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 4B.

FIG. 2A is a view of a rear surface of an electronic appliance that isequipped with the antenna device according to the first preferredembodiment of the present invention. The rear surface of the electronicappliance faces an antenna on a reader/writer side, which is acommunication partner side. FIG. 2B is a plan view of the interior of alower casing on the rear surface side. Only the structures of principalcomponents are illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, a conductor layer 2 is located on an outersurface of a lower casing 1. The conductor layer 2 is, for example, avapor-deposited metal film such as an aluminum film. A conductor openingCA and a slit SL, which connects the conductor opening CA and an outeredge of the conductor layer 2, are provided in the conductor layer 2.

As illustrated in FIG. 2B, an antenna coil module 3 is arranged on aninner surface of the lower casing 1 so as to partially cover theconductor opening CA.

In this preferred embodiment, a camera module is to be installed in theconductor opening CA, for example. It is preferable for the lens of thecamera module to be exposed to the outside through an opening in thecasing. Therefore, by arranging the conductor opening so as to coincidewith the opening provided in the casing in this way, there is no need todesign a special casing taking into account provision of the conductorlayer 2.

In addition, in cases such as where a portion of an outer surface of thecasing is preferably metallic from a design point of view, a metal filmis preferably formed on the outer surface of the casing by vapordeposition or other suitable process and the metal film may double asthe conductor layer.

By forming the conductor layer 2 on an inner or outer surface of thecasing of the electronic appliance in this way, there is no need toensure there is a dedicated space in which to arrange the conductorlayer 2 and a conductor layer 2 having a large area can be arranged.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a plan view and a front view of the antenna coilmodule 3, respectively. The antenna coil module 3 preferably includes arectangular-sheet-shaped flexible substrate 33 and a magnetic sheet 39having the same or substantially the same rectangular sheet-shapedconfiguration as the flexible substrate 33. Connectors 32 are providedon the flexible substrate 33 and are used to connect a spiral-shapedcoil conductor 31, in which a winding center portion provides a coilopening CW, and an external circuit. The magnetic sheet 39 preferablyis, for example, made of a ferrite formed in a sheet-shapedconfiguration.

The number of windings (number of turns) of the coil conductor 31 isdetermined on the basis of the required inductance. If there is only oneturn, a simple loop-shaped coil conductor is formed.

The antenna coil module 3 is arranged so that the antenna coil module 3is mounted on an inner surface of the lower casing 1 of the electronicappliance as illustrated in FIG. 2B, and when an upper casing is stackedthereon, the connectors 32 contact predetermined pins of a circuit boardmounted in the upper casing.

The circuit board is provided with a capacitor that is connected inparallel with the connectors 32. The resonant frequency is determined bythe inductance defined by the coil conductor 31 and the magnetic sheet39 of the antenna coil module 3 and the capacitance of the capacitor.For example, in the case where a HF band is used having a centralfrequency of 13.56 MHz, the resonant frequency is determined to be 13.56MHz.

FIG. 4A is a sectional view illustrating a state in which the antennadevice 101 and the antenna on the reader/writer side are magneticallycoupled. Furthermore, FIG. 4B is a sectional view illustrating a statein which there is no conductor layer 2, as a comparative example.Components of the casing of the electronic appliance are omitted fromthe figures.

Since at least a portion of the coil conductor 31 of the antenna coilmodule 3 is covered by the conductor layer 2, a current flows throughthe conductor layer such that the magnetic field that arises due to thecurrent flowing through the coil conductor is blocked. Then, a current,which flows around the periphery of the opening of the conductor layer,passes along the periphery of the slit and flows around the periphery ofthe conductor layer due to a cut-edge effect. In addition, a currentalso flows through the planar portion of the conductor layer.Accordingly, a magnetic field arises around the conductor layer andsince magnetic flux does not penetrate through the conductor layer 2,magnetic flux MF attempts to bypass the conductor layer 2 along a pathin which the conductor opening CA of the conductor layer 2 is on theinside and the outer edge of the conductor layer 2 is on the outside. Asa result, the magnetic flux MF draws relatively large loops that linkthe inside and the outside of a coil conductor 41 of an antenna 4 on thereader/writer side. In other words, the antenna device 101 and theantenna 4 on the reader/writer side are magnetically coupled.

Furthermore, the magnetic flux, which is attempting to link the coilconductor 31 and the antenna on the communication partner side, cancirculate through the coil opening CW and the conductor opening CA dueto the fact that the coil opening CW and the conductor opening CA atleast partially overlap when the coil conductor 31 is viewed in planview. Specifically, when the coil opening CW and the conductor openingCA overlap over almost the entire peripheries thereof when the coilconductor 31 is viewed in plan view, the coil conductor 31 can be madeto effectively radiate a magnetic field.

In addition, large magnetic field loops can be generated due to the factthat the area of the conductor layer 2 is larger than the area of theregion over which the coil conductor 31 is formed.

Furthermore, the directivity of the antenna can be made to be wider inthe antenna direction of the communication partner by stacking themagnetic sheet 39 on the surface of the flexible substrate 33 that is onthe side farther from the antenna on the communication partner side.

In this way, since it turns out that the magnetic flux is oriented indirections that extend beyond the conductor layer 2, stablecommunication can be realized even when the antenna device 101 and thereader/writer are close to each other in a state where the center of theantenna device 101 (center of antenna coil module 3) and the center ofthe antenna 4 of the reader/writer are aligned.

Furthermore, since conductor loops are not formed in the conductor layer2 because the conductor layer 2 is provided with the slit SL, asillustrated in FIG. 4A, when the magnetic flux MF circulates through theconductor opening CA and around the outer edge of the conductor layer 2,eddy currents can be prevented from arising in the conductor layer 2 andlosses due to such eddy currents can be minimized and prevented. As aresult, the maximum possible communication range can be secured betweenthe antenna device 101 and the antenna 4 on the reader/writer side.

In contrast to this, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, when there is noconductor layer 2, the magnetic flux MF, which passes through the coilopening CW, does not spread out in the left-right direction in FIG. 4B(direction of spreading when the antenna module 3 is viewed in planview) and the degree of coupling with the antenna 4 on the reader/writerside is small. Therefore, a phenomenon occurs in which communicationbecomes increasingly unstable the closer the antenna device 101 and thereader/writer are brought to each other.

Moreover, in the antenna device according to a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, the conductor layer causes large loops ofmagnetic flux to circulate and therefore magnetic flux reaches from theantenna device to the antenna on the communication partner side or fromthe antenna on the communication partner side to the antenna device andthe maximum possible range of communication between the antenna deviceand the antenna on the communication partner side becomes large.

The following table lists results obtained when the size of the antennacoil module 3 was varied and the range over which communication can beperformed between an antenna device 101 equipped with each of theantenna coil modules 3 and the antenna on the communication partner sidewas measured.

Size of Antenna Without Conductor With Conductor Coil Module Layer Layer22.5 mm × 20 mm 0-24 mm 0-44 mm 22.5 mm × 19 mm 0-23 mm 0-43 mm 22.5 mm× 18 mm 0-19 mm 0-41 mm 22.5 mm × 17 mm — 0-39 mm 22.5 mm × 16 mm — 0-38mm

For example, in the case of the antenna device equipped with the antennacoil module 3 having a size of, for example, about 22.5 mm×about 18 mm,when the conductor layer is included, the maximum possible communicationrange is increased to about 41 mm, in contrast to when the conductorlayer is not provided and the maximum communication range is about 19mm. Furthermore, for example, in the case of the antenna devicesequipped with the antenna coil modules 3 having sizes equal to or lessthan, for example, about 22.5 mm×about 17 mm, communication is notpossible at any distance when the conductor layer is not provided. Incontrast, when the conductor layer is included, communication ispossible over a wide range from, for example, about 0 mm to about 38 mmeven in cases where the antenna device is configured so as to beequipped with a very small antenna coil module 3 such as the one havinga size of about 22.5 mm×about 16 mm, for example.

Setting of the central resonant frequency of the antenna device 101 ispreferably performed as follows. In a state in which the antenna coilmodule 3 illustrated in FIG. 2B is not in the vicinity of the conductorlayer 2, in other words, in a stand alone state in which the antennacoil module 3 has not yet been mounted in the lower casing 1, while theantenna coil module 3 is connected in parallel with a resonancecapacitor, the resonant frequency is set in advance to be lower than thecentral resonant frequency of the frequency band to be used. Asillustrated in FIGS. 2B and 4A, when the antenna coil module 3 isbrought close to the conductor opening CA of the conductor layer 2,since the inductance value of the antenna coil module 3 becomes smaller,the resonant frequency of the antenna device 101 increases.Consequently, the inductance value of the antenna coil module 3 in thestand alone state is determined so that the resonant frequency of theantenna device 101 once the antenna device 101 has been constructed bymounting the antenna coil module 3 inside the casing of the electronicappliance approximately coincides with the central resonant frequency ofthe frequency band to be used.

In addition, the inductance of the antenna device varies in accordancewith the length and width of the slit SL. For example, when the slit SLis made to be large, the degree of reduction of the inductance value(increase of resonant frequency) when the conductor layer 2 is broughtclose to the antenna coil module 3 can be suppressed. Accordingly, thelength and width of the slit SL are set so as to obtain a desiredinductance value.

Furthermore, since the inductance varies with the positionalrelationship between the antenna coil module 3 and the conductor layer 2and with the shape and size of the conductor opening CA of the conductorlayer 2, the positional relationship between the antenna coil module 3and the conductor layer 2 and the shape and size of the conductoropening CA of the conductor layer 2 are set so as to obtain a desiredinductance value.

In this way, since the loops of magnetic flux are large due to thepresence of the conductor layer, the coil opening CW of the coilconductor 31 may be made small and the antenna coil module can bereduced in size. Furthermore, together with making the coil opening CWsmall, the number of coil turns can be increased and the number ofvalues of the inductance of the antenna coil module that can be adoptedcan be increased. As a result, setting of the resonant frequency issimplified.

As described above, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention,characteristics are used for which a magnetic field cannot penetrateinto the conductor layer and the emission pattern of the magnetic fieldat the frequency being used is caused to change due to the presence ofthe conductor layer.

Stable communication can be performed with the antenna device 101according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, even whenthere are various sizes of the antenna device 101 and the antenna 4 onthe reader/writer side. In other words, in the case where the antenna 4on the reader/writer side is large, magnetic flux circulates in largeloops due to the presence of the conductor layer 2 and the magnetic fluxfrom the antenna device 101 reaches the antenna 101 on the reader/writerside, and in the case in which the antenna 4 on the reader/writer sideis small, the distance that the magnetic flux reaches is increased dueto the presence of the conductor layer 2.

Second Preferred Embodiment

FIGS. 5A and 5B are views of an antenna device 102 according to a secondpreferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a plan viewfrom the inner surface side of the lower casing 1 of the electronicappliance. Furthermore, FIG. 5B is a plan view of a state in which theantenna coil module 3 has been mounted on an inner surface of the lowercasing 1.

In the second preferred embodiment, the conductor layer 2 is preferablyprovided on an inner surface of the lower casing 1. The conductor layer2 is preferably formed by vapor deposition of a metal film such asaluminum or by adhesion of a metal foil, for example. In this way, aconductor layer may be provided on an inner surface of the casing.

Moreover, in the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B,the slit SL of the conductor layer 2 is provided in a portion for whichthe distance from the conductor opening CA to the edge is short.

The conductor layer 2 may be connected to the ground of a circuit insidethe electronic appliance. By doing this, the conductor layer 2 can alsoserve as a conductor layer to shield the electronic appliance.

Third Preferred Embodiment

FIGS. 6A and 6B are plan views of an antenna device 103 according to athird preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A illustratesan electric current that flows through the coil conductor 31 and FIG. 6Billustrates an electric current l that flows through the conductor layer2. The antenna device 103 preferably includes the antenna coil module 3and the conductor layer 2. The antenna coil module 3 is preferablyconstructed by stacking the flexible substrate on which thespiral-shaped coil conductor 31 has been formed on top of a magneticsheet. Basically, this is the same as the configuration illustrated inFIGS. 3A and 3B. However, in this preferred embodiment, the twoterminals of the coil conductor extend from the flexible substrate andconnectors are provided at positions separated from the coil conductor31.

The conductor layer 2 preferably includes the conductor opening CA andthe slit SL, which connects the conductor opening CA and the outer edgeof the conductor layer 2.

When the coil conductor 31 and the conductor layer 2 are viewed in planview, the coil opening CW and the conductor opening CA are aligned andoverlap over almost the entire peripheries thereof. With such aconfiguration, when the coil conductor 31 is viewed in plan view, theentirety of the coil conductor 31 can be covered by the conductor layer2. Consequently, since the magnetic flux generated by the coil conductor31 attempts to totally link to the conductor layer 2, a large current isgenerated in the conductor layer 2 in a direction opposite to that ofthe current that flows through the coil conductor 31 so as to block thismagnetic flux. The large electric current I, which flows around theperiphery of the conductor opening CA, flows along the periphery of theslit SL, through the plane of the conductor layer and along theperiphery of the conductor layer due to the cut-edge effect.Accordingly, a strong magnetic field can be generated by the conductorlayer and the communication range can be further widened. In addition,the loops of magnetic flux passing through the conductor opening CA andthe coil opening CW and circulating around the conductor layer 2 aremore effectively widened. Consequently, stable communication can beperformed even when the electronic appliance equipped with the antennadevice 103 is oriented in any direction among in-plane directionsrelative to the surface of the antenna on the reader/writer side.

Fourth Preferred Embodiment

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are a plan view and a front view of an antenna coilmodule 13 according to a fourth preferred embodiment, respectively. Theantenna coil module 13 is positioned so as to be in the vicinity of aconductor layer, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, similarly to thecase of the first preferred embodiment. Due to the antenna coil module13 being positioned in this way, a large electric current is generatedin the conductor layer 2 and a strong magnetic field is generated aroundthe conductor layer 2.

The antenna coil module 13 preferably includes therectangular-plate-shaped flexible substrate 34 and the magnetic sheet 39having the same rectangular shape. The spiral-shaped coil conductor 31,in which a winding center portion defines the coil opening CW, andconnectors 32, which are used to connect to an external circuit, areprovided on the flexible substrate 34. The coil conductor 31 ispreferably arranged over two layers of the flexible substrate 34. Thetwo layers are connected by via conductors. The magnetic sheet 39preferably is, for example, composed of a ferrite formed in asheet-shaped configuration.

In this way, a strong magnetic field is generated by the coil conductordue to the coil conductor 31 being wound over a plurality of layers, andas a result, a large current is made to flow in the conductor layer. Inaddition, the coil conductor can be centered and arranged so as to bealigned with the inner edge of the conductor opening. Accordingly,magnetic flux, which is centered on and generated by the coil conductor31 attempts to link to the conductor layer and therefore a large currentcan be made to flow in the conductor layer.

Fifth Preferred Embodiment

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an antenna device 104 according to a fifthpreferred embodiment of the present invention. The antenna device 104preferably includes the antenna coil module 3 and the conductor layer 2.In the antenna coil module 3, a flexible substrate on which aspiral-shaped coil conductor has been formed is stacked on top of amagnetic sheet. This configuration is similar to that illustrated inFIGS. 6A and 6B. However, in this preferred embodiment, the coil openingCW is preferably slightly smaller than the conductor opening CA.

Since a portion of the coil conductor 31 is covered by the conductorlayer 2, a current flows through the conductor layer 2 due to themagnetic flux generated by the coil conductor 31 as a result of thisstructure.

In addition, in each of the above-described preferred embodiments, theconductor layer is preferably provided on an outer surface or an innersurface of the casing, but the conductor layer may be arranged on aninternal component of the casing. Furthermore, in the case where thecasing itself is metal, the casing may be used as the conductor layer.

In addition, in each of the above-described preferred embodiments, theantenna coil module 3 is preferably constructed by stacking the flexiblesubstrate 33 equipped with the coil conductor 31 on top of the magneticsheet 39 composed of a ferrite; however, it may not be necessary toprovide a magnetic sheet in an environment where there is no adverseinfluence on formation of loops of magnetic flux at the rear surface ofthe antenna coil module 3.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scopeand spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention,therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.

1. (canceled)
 2. An electronic appliance comprising: a casing; and anantenna device including: a coil conductor having a loop shape or aspiral shape in which a winding center portion defines a coil opening;and a conductor layer; wherein when the coil conductor is viewed in planview, a first portion of the coil conductor overlaps with the conductorlayer and a second portion of the coil conductor does not overlap withthe conductor layer; the conductor layer is arranged to function as aradiator to radiate a magnetic field; the electronic appliance isconfigured such that the magnetic field is radiated towards an outsideof the casing and communication between the antenna device and acommunication partner is performed with the communication partner beingdisposed outside of the casing; the communication between the antennadevice and the communication partner is performed using inductivecoupling; the conductor layer is located on one of an inner surface, anouter surface, and an internal component of the casing of the electronicappliance; and an end portion of the coil opening at least partiallyoverlaps with the conductor layer when viewed in plan view.
 3. Theelectronic appliance according to claim 2, wherein an area of theconductor layer is larger than an area of a region in which the coilconductor is located.
 4. The electronic appliance according to claim 2,wherein the coil conductor is wound across a plurality of layers.
 5. Theelectronic appliance according to claim 2, wherein the coil conductor islocated on a substrate, a magnetic sheet is stacked on a surface of thesubstrate on a side farther from the communication partner than the coilconductor is relative to the communication partner, and an antenna coilmodule includes the substrate and the magnetic sheet.
 6. The electronicappliance according to claim 2, wherein a resonant frequency of theantenna device is lower than a central frequency of a to-be-usedfrequency band in a state in which the conductor layer is not presentand is equal or substantially equal to the central frequency of theto-be-used frequency band in a state in which the antenna coil modulehas been mounted inside the casing of the electronic appliance.
 7. Theelectronic appliance according to claim 2, wherein the communicationpartner is a reader/writer.
 8. The electronic appliance according toclaim 2, further comprising a magnetic layer.
 9. The electronicappliance according to claim 2, wherein the communication between theantenna device and the communication partner is performed in the HFfrequency band.
 10. The electronic appliance according to claim 2,further comprising a magnetic layer arranged on a side farther from thecommunication partner than the coil conductor is relative to thecommunication partner.
 11. The electronic appliance according to claim10, wherein when the conductor layer is viewed in plan view, an outerperipheral edge of the magnetic layer is located inside of an outerperipheral edge of the conductor layer.